Hanging the show

The final part of the preparation of the exhibition was translating the grid that we had laidout onto the floor to a mathematically precise hanging rectangle on the wall that we hadto use as our canvas.So, the first thing I did was I went down the grid we laid out and just took a pieceof paper and made note of the top width of every matted piece as I walked down the line.Then I counted the number of spaces in that row, added to that an extra 2 inches thinkingI really wanted a tightly spaced grid in order to make it hold together well.

And then I took that total number of inches, divided it by 2, found the center of the walland working from the center to the left side, made my starting mark for horizontal positioning.I then measured up from the floor and made by starting mark for vertical positioning.So I essentially established the top-left corner of the exhibition as a starting placefor the hanging of the work.Once we had accomplished this, I went over the adhesive we were going to use, which isa padded Permanent Double Stick Adhesive--Permanent and adhesives is a relative term-- and I knew from experimentation that thisprovided a strong enough bond to support the weight of the work.

Particularly some of the work on alternative media that had quite a bit of weight to them,but I knew we could stick it to the vinyl, it would adhere well, but it was also possibleto remove it without damaging the vinyl.It comes in rolls with a backing tape on one side, and I had the students tear it in thespecific length and on the smaller pieces just put one piece, stretched horizontally at each corner.On the larger pieces, I had them--the students-- put one piece at each corner as well as anotherpiece in the top-center to help support the additional weight of the bigger pieces.

So, once we had established our starting point both horizontally and vertically, I got upon the ladder and used a laser level.Because of the nature of this wall, it's a very tall wall, there was no active measureto the ceiling and the floor is uneven, so I couldn't use it as a reference point.So, the laser was really a key in allowing me to lay this out precisely.One of the things that I have gained over all the years of doing this is an abilityto very precisely place things by my eye.I can generally get within a 16th of an inch of accuracy just by eyeballing things.

So as you'll see, as I go down here, I use a measuring device sometimes to establishdistances, especially in the placement of the larger images, but a lot of the smallerones, you'll see me put in position without measuring at all.So finally, we worked our way down the wall, the last few pieces were hung, and the studentswere able to stand back and for the first time see this assemblage of work in a coherentwhole, elevated to a great level by all their hard work and our attention to detail, andpresented in a manner and in a scale that I don't think any of them had really experienced before.

I know visitors and parents alike are always stunned by the professional quality of the photography exhibition.I think the matting helps that in some ways, but really, my goal with the matting and thehanging of the show is to really direct the viewers' attention, the quality of the workthat these astonishing students have created in the two short weeks we have with them.One of the other real joys as an instructor is it's often this point in time that we getto meet the parents of the students for the first time.And it's something we're always grateful for, an opportunity to talk about the promiseand the challenges of a life in the arts, and also about the individual gifts and abilitiesof the students that they have so graciously put into our care for the two weeks.

The responses I have had from parents over the years have been truly astonishing, andit's also been really delightful to see the success that several of our graduates havegone on to achieve particularly in photography.I have several former students that are working successful professionals in the field.

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Released

9/20/2012

Matting and framing is relatively simple, and doing it yourself costs less and is more rewarding than using a framing service. In this course, photographer and professional framer Konrad Eek describes the tools, techniques, and creative decisions involved in matting, framing, and hanging photographs.

The course begins with an overview of framing concepts, terms, and tools and then shows how to choose and work with the various components of a framed print: matboard, frame, glazing, wire hangers, and more. The course also examines the issues and creative options behind hanging an exhibit, whether in a gallery or in a home.